Far West

WASHINGTON ­— Though state regulators were swifter and more aggressive than their federal counterparts in responding to abuses that led to the 2008 collapse of the auction-rate securities market, they could have played a larger role in preventing the crisis if their authority had not been preempted by Congress, the head of a regulator group warned yesterday.

WASHINGTON — The Joint Tax Committee is estimating that the wildly popular Build America Bond program will cost $12.5 billion from fiscal 2009 through fiscal 2013.

SAN FRANCISCO — The often contentious relationship between California and its local governments appears to be ­heading back to the electoral battlefield this year.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Las Vegas Monorail Co., which has more than $600 million of municipal bonds outstanding, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday.

Matt Dalton is willing to buy the debt of a bankrupt borrower — and he can’t find any for sale at a suitable price.

Only in municipal bonds.Matt Dalton is willing to buy the debt of a bankrupt borrower — and he can’t find any for sale at a suitable price.

In her state of the state address Tuesday, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire urged lawmakers to consider new revenue to protect key programs.

In his combined state of the state and budget address Tuesday, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter proposed a fiscal 2011 budget that he said includes no spending increases, and also recommended additional cuts to the state’s current year spending plan.

California Treasurer Bill Lockyer will have an opponent in November.

The Bay Area Toll Authority’s oversight committee on Wednesday approved toll hikes on the seven state owned toll bridges in the San Francisco Area. The toll hikes must now be approved by the Oakland-based agency’s full board.